1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus formed by no less than two sections, and in particular to an electronic apparatus having sections which are movably connected to each other.
2. Description of the Related Art
As an example of a conventional electronic apparatus, a mobile phone designed to be easily used as well as to be compact for portability and to be used in various ways is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication (Kokai), No. 2005-354456. More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 16-18, the mobile phone A disclosed in JP 2005-354456 has a lower section (first section) B and an upper section (second section) C, which are foldably and rotationally connected by a rotating two-axis hinge. The lower section B is formed as a main body and has, on a front face Bf, a microphone Bm and user controls Ba including a plurality of operation keys. The upper section C has, on a front face Cf, a speaker Cr and a liquid crystal display (LCD) Cd of a significant size.
The lower section B and the upper section C are foldably connected around a folding axis x as shown by an arrow F in FIG. 16B, and are rotationally connected around a flipping axis z which is perpendicular to the folding axis x as shown by an arrow R in FIGS. 16A and 16B, through a connection D including a rotating two-axis hinge (not shown).
The mobile phone A thereby has four mechanical modes, namely a closed mode, an open mode, a flipped-open mode and a flipped-closed mode, as follows. The “closed mode” is a state of the mobile phone A in which the lower section B and the upper section C are closed with respect to each other while the front face Bf faces the front face Cf. See FIG. 17B. The mobile phone A may shift from the closed mode to the “open mode,” in which the upper section C is open with respect to the lower section B by a degree defined by an open attitude. See FIG. 17A. The mobile phone A may shift from the open mode to the “flipped-open” mode by flipping the upper section C by 180 degrees. See FIG. 18A. The mobile phone A may shift from the flipped-open mode to the “flipped-closed” mode by closing the upper section C with respect to the lower section B while the front face Bf of the lower section B faces a back face Cb of the upper section C, and while the LCD Cd is exposed outwards. See FIG. 18B.
There are an increasing number of foldable mobile phones having a clearance pad for forming a certain clearance (gap) between a first section and a second section while the first and second sections are closed with respect to each other, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication (Kokai), No. 2004-128814.
For example, with respect to mobile phone A shown in FIGS. 16-18, a pair of clearance pads, Q, Q are provided on the front face Bf of the lower section B. In the closed mode shown in FIG. 17B, a certain clearance g is formed between the front face Bf of the lower section B and the front face Cf of the upper section C by letting the front face Cf be in contact with the clearance pads, Q, Q.
Similarly, in the flipped-closed mode shown in FIG. 18B, a clearance g is formed between the front face Bf of the lower section B and the back face Cb of the upper section C by letting the back face Cb be in contact with the clearance pads, Q, Q.
A foldable mobile phone having a rotating two-axis hinge, like the mobile phone A described above, has to keep a relative position of the lower section B and the upper section C constant both in the closed mode and in the flipped-closed mode. This relative position to be kept constant includes the clearance between the lower section B and the upper section C, and a perspective view of the mobile phone A as a whole based on a parallel relationship between the lower section B and the upper section C. To keep this relative position constant, the front face Cf and the back face Cb of the upper section C have to be located at an equal distance (in a direction of depth) from the flipping axis z.
The upper section C of the mobile phone A thereby has to be designed in a simplest way in which both the front face Cf and the back face Cb are flat, thereby greatly reducing the degree of freedom of exterior design of the mobile phone A. For example, the mobile phone A may not be designed to be wedge-shaped in the closed mode by letting the back face Cb of the upper section C gradually curve toward the front face Cf as the back face Cb approaches an open end of the upper section C.